Drug Use in Neuromancer

Glen Sanford

It's interesting to me that one of the main aspects of Gibson's world is
drug use.
While still technically illegal, drugs seem as common and socially
acceptable as alcohol,
and maybe as coffee. Widespread drug use in the future doesn't seem to me to
be an unlikelihood,
but what makes Gibson's portrayal of it so stunning is the feeling of sheer
quantity and variety which he creates.
Pills and Derms of all kinds litter themselves through Neuromancer,
and there is even room
for old fashioned needles for people with a sense of class

What I can't figure out, however, is Gibson's stance on the whole thing. At
times he seems to
demonify drug use, to show the nasty effects it can have (Case's paranoia
in the early "chase" scene), while at others he seems to glorify it
(Riviera, with the holographic scorpion),
while at still other times it seems to be a big joke (Case's
"unnatural state" on Betaphenethylamine). Perhaps Gibson is taking
an ambivalent attitude toward it,
an attitude in which all views are embraced, but none are chosen.